Philip Johnston

Philip Johnston was born in Topeka,Kansas on September 17, 1892. Philip Johnston was the son of a missionary William Johnston. Philip was already a veteran form World War II. Philip Johnston was very important in World War II because he was the man who gave the idea to the United States Marine Corps to use the Navajo language for transmitting codes. The reason It would be a good idea for them to use is that the enemy kept breaking there own codes. t will be a great help to them if they use there codes in native American language. When the marine corps agreed to the transfer Philip asked them that he wanted to be in the situation as a staff Sargent, they had agreed to it and he was officially a staff Sargent code talker. The way he was introduced into Navajo culture was through his dad,William was able to intervene and defuse a potentially violent clash between Navajos and Anglos involving livestock rustling. Philips father was able to get the leaders to come to Washington D.C to discuss matters with the president Theodore Roosevelt. Philip was the translator for the leaders to talk to the president.The Navajo people appreciated what William Johnston did so much that the leaders let him build a church were they lived.Philip was not a Navajo but he was able to interact with the children and was taught the language by the children and in time he was able to speak it fluently.Philip Johnston died in 1982.